Straw cup assembly and cup

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a straw cup assembly, including: a cup body comprising a side wall and a bottom wall; and a straw, an end of which is connected to the side wall and/or the bottom wall, the straw comprises an optical fiber configured to emit light according to a preset condition associated with a liquid within the cup body. The present disclosure also provides a cup provided with such optical fiber.

The present application is a Section 371 National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/CN2017/070843, filed on 11 Jan. 2017, which has not yet published, and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201610330541.X, filed on May 18, 2016, the references of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to technical field of drinking tool, and particularly, to a straw cup assembly and a cup.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

A straw cup is well known as a common drinking tool in daily life. The straw cup includes a cup and a straw, so that people sucks water or other liquid beverage in the cup through the straw.

A conventional straw cup cannot provide any intelligent interactive function, which means that people's drinking plan completely depends on his/her initiative. It is needed positively a cup or a straw cup which can actively remind people to drink and thus provide interest when drinking. Thus, this type of straw cup is useful to people who is busy, particularly to children who have no habit of drinking.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a straw cup assembly and a cup which can provide an additional intelligent function of emitting light with respect to a conventional cup.

According to an embodiment of an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a straw cup assembly comprising: a cup body comprising a side wall and a bottom wall; and a straw, an end of which is connected to at least one of the side wall and the bottom wall, the straw comprises an optical fiber configured to emit light according to a preset condition.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bottom wall of the cup body comprises:

an optical signal transmitter configured to emit a preset optical signal to the optical fiber;

a pressure sensor configured to detect a weight of a liquid within the cup body and to provide a detection result;

a processor electrically connected with the optical signal transmitter and the pressure sensor and configured to receive the detection result from the pressure sensor and control the optical signal transmitter to transmit the preset optical signal according to the received detection result; and

a power supply configured to supply electrical power to the optical signal transmitter, the processor and the pressure sensor.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cup body has a double-layer structure including an inner cup body and an outer cup body, and a receiving space is defined between the inner cup body and the outer cup body; and

the optical signal transmitter, the processor, the pressure sensor and the power supply are arranged in the receiving space.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the straw further comprises a straw body comprising an inner cylindrical layer and an outer cylindrical layer, and the optical fiber is arranged between the inner cylindrical layer and the outer cylindrical layer.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the optical fiber extends into the receiving space of the cup body.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the straw comprises a plurality of optical fibers arranged uniformly in a circumferential direction of the straw and an adhesive is filled among the plurality of optical fibers.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the optical signal transmitter, the processor, the pressure sensor and the power supply are integrated onto a first surface of a circuit board, and a second surface of the circuit board, opposite from the first surface, is connected to a bottom surface of the inner cup body in the receiving space.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer cup body comprises a side wall portion and a bottom cover portion, and the bottom cover portion is removably connected to the side wall portion to enclose the circuit board.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bottom cover portion is threadedly connected with the side wall portion.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the optical signal transmitter comprises:

an electrical-to-optical converter configured to convert an electrical signal from the processor into an optical signal; and

a laser configured to emit the optical signal from the electrical-to-optical converter into the optical fiber.

The laser may be integrated into the electrical-to-optical converter, or may be provided separately from the electrical-to-optical converter.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a part of a bottom portion of the inner cup body corresponding to the pressure sensor is made of an elastic material.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the straw cup assembly further comprises:

a cover component configured to cover an opening of the cup body; and

the cover component comprises an aperture through which the straw passes.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the preset condition comprises the amount of the liquid within the cup body being maintained to be constant within a certain time period.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the preset condition includes the amount of the liquid within the cup body being reduced.

According to an embodiment of another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a cup, comprising: a cup body comprising a side wall and a bottom wall; the cup further comprises an optical fiber provided in the side wall of the cup body, and the optical fiber is configured to emit light according to a preset condition.

In order to make objects, technical schemes and advantages of the present disclosure more definite, the present disclosure will be further described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a straw cup assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a straw of the straw cup assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2a is a sectional view of the straw shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of electronic devices in a bottom wall of a cup body according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of electronic devices provided in a bottom wall of a cup body according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic exploded view of the straw cup assembly shown in FIG. 1, with a bottom cover being disconnected from the cup body; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a straw cup assembly including a cover component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail in conjunction with the drawings. In the description, similar or same component or element is indicated by similar or same reference symbol. The description of the embodiment by reference to the drawings is intended to show a general concept of the present disclosure, instead to limit the present disclosure.

In addition, in the following description, for convenient for interpretation, much specific detail is described to provide a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments. However, obviously, one or more embodiments may be implemented without the specific detail. In other situations, known structure and device are illustrated in manner of view so as to simply the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a straw cup assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a straw of the straw cup assembly shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2a is a sectional view of the straw shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 2 a, the straw cup assembly 1 includes a cup body 10 and a straw or suction tube 20. The cup body 10 includes a side wall 11 and a bottom wall 12. A side or a portion of a bottom end of the straw 20 is connected to or fixed to a lower portion of the side wall 11 at a position close to the bottom wall 12. A portion of the straw 20 that is in contact with the side wall 11 of the cup body 10 may be fused with the side wall, thereby achieving connection or fixation. The straw 20 includes or is provided with an optical fiber 23 configured to emit light according to a preset condition. In an example, the straw 20 is at least partially transparent to transmit therethrough the light from the optical fiber. The straw 20 includes a straw body 20′ and the optical fiber 23 is for example disposed in a circumferential portion of the straw body 20′.

In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2a , the straw body 20′ includes an inner cylindrical layer 21 and an outer cylindrical layer 22. The straw 20 includes a plurality of optical fibers 23 disposed between the inner cylindrical layer 21 and the outer cylindrical layer 22 and arranged uniformly in a circumferential direction of the straw 20. An adhesive 27 may be filled among the plurality of optical fibers 23 to fix the optical fibers 23. A top face 24 and a bottom face 25 of the straw are closed to seal the optical fibers 23 between the inner cylindrical layer 21 and the outer cylindrical layer 22, protecting the optical fibers. The optical fiber 23 has an extending portion 26 that extends out of the bottom face 25 of the straw 20. The extending portion 26 may extend to or be placed at the bottom wall 12 of the cup body 10. In an example, as shown in FIG. 1, the extending portion 26 may extend into the bottom wall 12 through the side wall 11. A sealing device may be provided at a position where the straw 20 contacts the side wall 11 of the cup body 10, so as to seal the optical fibers and prevent a liquid in the cup body 10 from entering the side wall 11 and the bottom wall 12. Alternatively, a portion of the straw 20 that is in contact with the side wall 11 of the cup body 10 may fuse with the side wall 11 there to achieve seal. Although FIG. 1 shows the straw 20 is connected to or fixed onto the side wall 11, the straw 20 may also be connected to or fixed onto the bottom wall 12.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of electronic devices disposed in the bottom wall of the cup body according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 shows a circuit block diagram of the electronic devices disposed in the bottom wall of the cup body according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bottom wall 12 of the cup body 10 includes or is provided with electronic devices such as a pressure sensor 33, a processor 32, an optical signal transmitter 31, a power supply 34, and the like. The optical signal transmitter 31 is configured to transmit a preset optical signal to the optical fiber 23 in the straw 20, imitating various lighting effects. For example, the optical signal transmitter 31 may discontinuously transmit a series of pulsed signals to imitate a flow of water. The pressure sensor 33 may be a micro weighting sensor configured to detect a weight of the liquid in the cup body 10 and transmit a detection result to the processor 32 in form of an analog signal or digital signal. The pressure sensor 33 and the processor 32 may be packaged into one element, or they may be provided separately. The processor 32 is electrically connected to the pressure sensor 33 and the optical signal transmitter 31 to receive a signal from the pressure sensor 33 and to control the optical signal transmitter 31 according to the received signal to transmit the preset optical signal. The processor 32 may be a single-chip computer, ARM or other processor. The power supply 34 is configured to supply electrical power to the optical signal transmitter 31, the processor 32 and the pressure sensor 33. The power supply 34 may be for example a lithium battery or lithium secondary battery. Although not shown, those skilled in the art may provide corresponding interface components and connection lines, such as data lines, power lines and controlling lines, among various electronic devices, as required.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the optical signal transmitter 31 includes an electrical-to-optical converter 311 configured to convert an electrical signal from the processor 32 into an optical signal and a laser 312 configured to emit the optical signal from the electrical-to-optical converter 311. The laser 312 may be integrated into the electrical-to-optical converter 311, or may be provided separately from the electrical-to-optical converter. The laser 312 may be coupled or connected to the extending portion 26 of the optical fiber 23 that extends out of the straw 20, so as to transmit the optical signal towards the optical fiber 23. An optical fiber connection interface, an optical fiber connection line or the like may be provided between the laser 312 and the extending portion 26 of the optical fiber 23.

According to an embodiment of the present, as shown in FIG. 1, the cup body 10 has a double-layer structure including an inner cup body 111 and an outer cup body 112. A receiving space 110 is defined between the inner cup body 111 and the outer cup body 112. At least one of the inner cup body 111 and the outer cup body 112 may be transparent or non-transparent. The optical signal transmitter 31, the processor 32, the pressure sensor 33 and the power supply 34 are arranged within the receiving space 110. Correspondingly, the extending portion 26 of the straw 23 extends into the receiving space 110 of the cup body 10 and is coupled or connected to the laser 312.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the optical signal transmitter 31, the processor 32, the pressure sensor 33 and the power supply 34 are integrated onto a surface of a circuit board 35 (referring to FIG. 1), while the other surface of the circuit board 35, opposite from the surface, is connected to a bottom surface of the inner cup body 111 within the receiving space 110. For example, the circuit board 35 is fixed to the bottom surface of the inner cup body 111 by an adhesive. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the optical signal transmitter 31, the processor 32, the pressure sensor 33 and the power supply 34 may be separately arranged and fixed in the receiving space 110 of the cup body 10, without providing any circuit board.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 5, the outer cup body 112 includes a side wall portion 113 and a bottom cover portion 114 removably connected to the side wall portion 113 to enclose the circuit board 35 that is connected to the bottom surface of the inner cup body 111. Exemplarily, the bottom cover portion 114 may include an internal thread while a bottom portion of the side wall portion 113 may include an external thread. As such, the bottom cover portion 113 may be threaded to the bottom portion of the side wall portion 113. Of course, other connection manners may be envisaged by those skilled in the art.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a part of the bottom portion of the inner cup body 111 corresponding to the pressure sensor 33 is made of an elastic material such that the pressure sensor 33 may effectively sense a change of a weight of the liquid within the cup body 10.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 6, the straw cup assembly 1 further includes a cover component 30 configured to cover an opening of the cup body 10. The cover component 30 includes an aperture 31 through which the straw 20 passes. The cover component may be used for functions such as dust prevention, heat preservation and the like.

In the straw cup assembly of the present disclosure, the optical fiber may be configured to emit light according to the preset condition by setting a corresponding program in the processor 32 to control lighting conditions and manners of the optical fiber 23. The program may be implemented by a single-chip computer. The preset condition may be for example a condition related to the liquid within the cup body.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the preset condition includes the amount of the liquid within the cup body 10 being maintained to be constant within a certain time period. In this case, the straw cup assembly 1 may be configured such that, when the liquid within the cup body 10 is sucked through the straw 20, an electrical resistance measured by the pressure sensor 33 is changed as the liquid level within the cup body 10 is dropped and the amount of the liquid is reduced. In response to the change of the detected weight of the liquid, the processor 32 initiates the optical signal transmitter 31 to drive the laser 312 to discontinuously emit a series of pulse signals, imitating a flowing of water and thus increasing interest of drinking of people.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the preset condition includes the amount of the liquid within the cup body 10 being reduced. In this case the straw cup assembly 1 may be configured such that, when the pressure sensor 33 detects the weight of the liquid within the cup body 10 is not changed within a certain time period, the processor 32 initiates the optical signal transmitter 31 to drive the laser 312 to emit a twinkling optical signal, making the straw 20 twinkle continuously and thus reminding a user that it is time to drink. In addition, the processor 32 may be further configured to control the optical signal transmitter 31 to emit light of different color according to the amount of the liquid within the cup body 10, so as to indicate the amount of the liquid remained within the cup body 10.

As described above, in the straw cup assembly according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the straw includes or is provided with the optical fiber and the optical fiber is configured to emit light according to the preset condition, such that the straw cup assembly is capable of providing an intelligent interactive function, such as reminding drinking, adding interest of drinking or the like.

According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, the optical fiber 23 shown in FIG. 1 may be provided in the side wall 11 of the cup body 10. For example, the optical fiber 23 may be disposed between the inner cup body 111 and the outer cup body 112. With this configuration, the cup body 10 may also emit light in case of not providing the straw. The preset condition may be with a condition associated with the liquid within the cup body. For example, the preset condition may include: the amount of the liquid within the cup body 10 being constant within a certain time period, or the amount of the liquid within the cup body 10 being reduced, all of which can achieve the objects of the present disclosure. Other aspects of the embodiment are similar to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-6 and will not be repeatedly described.

In the cup according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the cup body includes or is provided with the optical fiber therein and the optical fiber is configured to emit light according to the preset condition. Thus, the cup may provide an intelligent interactive function, such as reminding drinking, increasing interest of drinking and the like.

The above embodiments are merely exemplary to interpret the principle and structure of the present disclosure, instead to limit the present disclosure. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any modification and improvement made to the present disclosure without departing from the general concept of the present disclosure shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims of the present application. It is noted that the word “include” or “comprise” is not exclusive of other element or step, and wordings “a” or “an” is not exclusive of more. In addition, any reference symbols in claims shall not be understood to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 

1. A straw cup assembly, comprising: a cup body comprising a side wall and a bottom wall; and a straw, an end of which is connected to at least one of the side wall and the bottom wall, wherein the straw comprises an optical fiber configured to emit light according to a preset condition.
 2. The straw cup assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bottom wall of the cup body comprises: an optical signal transmitter configured to emit a preset optical signal to the optical fiber; a pressure sensor configured to detect a weight of a liquid within the cup body and to provide a detection result; a processor electrically connected with the optical signal transmitter and the pressure sensor and configured to receive the detection result from the pressure sensor and control the optical signal transmitter to transmit the preset optical signal according to the received detection result; and a power supply configured to supply electrical power to the optical signal transmitter, the processor and the pressure sensor.
 3. The straw cup assembly according to claim 2, wherein the cup body has a double-layer structure including an inner cup body and an outer cup body, and a receiving space is defined between the inner cup body and the outer cup body; and the optical signal transmitter, the processor, the pressure sensor and the power supply are arranged in the receiving space.
 4. The straw cup assembly according to claim 1, wherein the straw further comprises a straw body comprising an inner cylindrical layer and an outer cylindrical layer, and the optical fiber is arranged between the inner cylindrical layer and the outer cylindrical layer.
 5. The straw cup assembly according to claim 3, wherein the optical fiber extends into the receiving space of the cup body.
 6. The straw cup assembly according to claim 5, wherein the straw comprises a plurality of optical fibers arranged uniformly in a circumferential direction of the straw and an adhesive is filled among the plurality of optical fibers.
 7. The straw cup assembly according to claim 3, wherein the optical signal transmitter, the processor, the pressure sensor and the power supply are integrated onto a first surface of a circuit board, and a second surface of the circuit board, opposite from the first surface, is connected to a bottom surface of the inner cup body in the receiving space.
 8. The straw cup assembly according to claim 7, wherein the outer cup body comprises a side wall portion and a bottom cover portion, and the bottom cover portion is removably connected to the side wall portion to enclose the circuit board.
 9. The straw cup assembly according to claim 8, wherein the bottom cover portion is threadedly connected with the side wall portion.
 10. The straw cup assembly according to claim 2, wherein the optical signal transmitter comprises: an electrical-to-optical converter configured to convert an electrical signal from the processor into an optical signal; and a laser configured to emit the optical signal from the electrical-to-optical converter into the optical fiber.
 11. The straw cup assembly according to claim 3, wherein a part of a bottom portion of the inner cup body corresponding to the pressure sensor is made of an elastic material.
 12. The straw cup assembly according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover component configured to cover an opening of the cup body; and the cover component comprises an aperture through which the straw passes.
 13. The straw cup assembly according to claim 1, wherein the preset condition comprises the amount of the liquid within the cup body being maintained to be constant within a certain time period.
 14. The straw cup assembly according to claim 1, wherein the preset condition includes the amount of the liquid within the cup body being reduced.
 15. A cup, comprising: a cup body comprising a side wall and a bottom wall; wherein the cup further comprises an optical fiber provided in the side wall of the cup body, and the optical fiber is configured to emit light according to a preset condition.
 16. The cup according to claim 15, wherein the bottom wall of the cup body comprises: an optical signal transmitter configured to emit a preset optical signal to the optical fiber; a pressure sensor configured to detect a weight of a liquid within the cup body and provide a detection result; a processor electrically connected to the optical signal transmitter and the pressure sensor and configured to receive the detection result from the pressure sensor and control the optical signal transmitter to transmit the preset optical signal according to the received detection result; and a power supply configured to supply electrical power to the optical signal transmitter, the processor and the pressure sensor.
 17. The cup according to claim 16, wherein the cup body has a double-layer structure including an inner cup body and an outer cup body, and a receiving space is defined between the inner cup body and the outer cup body; and the optical signal transmitter, the processor, the pressure sensor and the power supply are arranged in the receiving space.
 18. The cup according to claim 17, wherein the optical fiber is arranged in the receiving space.
 19. The cup according to claim 18, wherein the optical signal transmitter, the processor, the pressure sensor and the power supply are integrated onto a first surface of a circuit board, and a second surface of the circuit board, opposite from the first surface, is connected to a bottom surface of the inner cup body in the receiving space.
 20. The cup according to claim 19, wherein the outer cup body comprises a side wall portion and a bottom cover portion, and the bottom cover portion is removably connected to the side wall portion to enclose the circuit board. 